--- title: How TIME Picked the 2021 Kid of the Year description: TIME's Kid of the Year is 11-year-old Orion Jean from Mansfield, Texas, who likes finding, and sharing, positivity despite hardship. canonical: https://time.com/6146565/how-time-picked-2021-kid-of-the-year/ author: Edward Felsenthal article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-02-10T01:15:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:54:32.050Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How TIME Picked the 2021 Kid of the Year og:description: 11-year-old Orion Jean is an ambassador for kindness, and inspires others to join him og:url: https://time.com/6146565/how-time-picked-2021-kid-of-the-year/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a43b67503ce0906/698a224d096a941fe06ac3a2/TIME-Kid-of-the-Year-Orion-Jean.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1080 og:image:height: 608 og:image:alt: TIME-Kid-of-the-Year-Orion-Jean og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How TIME Picked the 2021 Kid of the Year twitter:description: 11-year-old Orion Jean is an ambassador for kindness, and inspires others to join him twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a43b67503ce0906/698a224d096a941fe06ac3a2/TIME-Kid-of-the-Year-Orion-Jean.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How We Picked the 2021 Kid of the Year > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=071e6ae2-5476-4a50-a8ad-8a5427a28146&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1)  by [Edward Felsenthal](https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/)  ## Edward Felsenthal Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME. Feb 10, 2022 1:15 AM UTC   by [Edward Felsenthal](https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/)  ## Edward Felsenthal Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME. Feb 10, 2022 1:15 AM UTC Much has been said, and rightly so, about what a heartbreaking time this period has been for so many kids around the world. “The Lost Year,” we called it in a TIME cover story about [how COVID-19 affected a generation of students](https://time.com/5951236/college-applications-covid-19/). This year’s TIME [Kid of the Year](https://time.com/6144632/kid-of-the-year-2021-orion-jean), 11-year-old Orion Jean from Mansfield, Texas, has turned that script on its head—finding, and sharing, positivity in hardship: “You have to find something that breaks your heart for you to really get out there and make a difference,” the sixth-grader tells TIME contributing editor [Angelina Jolie](https://time.com/author/angelina-jolie/) in an interview.  Photograph by Justin J Wee for TIME Choosing the [Person of the Year](https://ti.me/3DLbxKl), something we’ve done here at TIME for nearly a century, is always a daunting and heady endeavor. Choosing the Kid of the Year, now in its second year, is sheer inspiration. And Orion personifies it. When he was just 9 years old, he won a student kindness contest and donated his $500 prize to a local children’s hospital. Since then, he’s collected and donated hundreds of thousands of books, meals, and toys to those in need. Orion not only launches big efforts to fix problems he sees in everyday life, like food insecurity and lack of access to education. He also inspires others to join him, bringing local communities and governments together to help the neediest among us. **Read More:** [_TIME’s 2020 Kid of the Year Gitanjali Rao on Research Goals and Mentoring Youth_](https://time.com/6146395/gitanjali-rao-kid-of-the-year-one-year-later) Kid of the Year begins with a nationwide search—this year saw thousands of submissions—in which parents, teachers, and friends can nominate a kid age 8 to 16 who is helping to make the world a better place. In partnership with Nickelodeon, which broadcasts the result as part of a television special, we also look across social media and school districts, at actions big and small by kids from around the country. [Panelists including](https://time.com/5916772/kid-of-the-year-2020/) representatives from the Special Olympics and Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA form an advisory committee to help [judge the candidates](https://www.nickkidoftheyear.com/official-rules.html) on the positive impact they’ve had this past year and on the signs that they’ll continue to lead in the future. A committee of kids—including Nickelodeon stars Alaya High, better known as That Girl Lay Lay; Dylan Gilmer of _Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan;_ and Wolfgang Schaeffer from the Loud House—weighs in as well. We then work with host Trevor Noah to narrow down the finalists and select the ultimate Kid of the Year. This year’s finalists include Orion as well as environmental activist [Cash Daniels](https://time.com/6128595/kid-of-the-year-finalist-cash-daniels/), 12, from Chattanooga, Tenn.; [Mina Fedor](https://time.com/6128586/kid-of-the-year-finalist-mina-fedor/), 13, from Oakland, Calif., who organized a rally to raise awareness about anti-Asian hate during the pandemic; DJ and antibullying advocate [Samirah Horton](https://time.com/6128588/kid-of-the-year-finalist-samirah-horton/), 13, from Brooklyn; and inventor [Lino Marrero](https://time.com/6128591/kid-of-the-year-finalist-lino-marrero-shoe-cell-phone/), 15, from Frisco, Texas. Each of them will be designated a TIME for Kids Kid Reporter, with opportunities through the year to contribute to TIME, and will receive a cash award from ViacomCBS, Nickelodeon’s owner. “We looked for the attributes we want to see more of in the world—determination, passion, kindness, bravery, and innovation,” says TIME for Kids editor in chief Andrea Delbanco. In addition to Andrea, the TIME team supporting the project included senior editor Emma Barker, who edited the stories in the package, and Mike Beck, Maria Perez-Brown, Rebecca Gitlitz, Ian Orefice, and Jeff Smith, who produced the [one-hour TV special](https://www.nickkidoftheyear.com/) highlighting the finalists. The special was simulcast across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, and Nicktoons on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Beginning Thursday, Feb. 10, the special will also be available to watch on [Nick.com](http://nick.com/), Nick App, and Nick on Demand. “Kindness is a choice, and while we can’t force others to be kind, we can be kind ourselves and hope to inspire other people,” Orion tells Angelina Jolie. “I want others to know that they can start today.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6146565/how-time-picked-2021-kid-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6146565/how-time-picked-2021-kid-of-the-year/"},"headline":"How We Picked the 2021 Kid of the Year","datePublished":"2022-02-10T01:15:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:54:32.050Z","description":"TIME's Kid of the Year is 11-year-old Orion Jean from Mansfield, Texas, who likes finding, and sharing, positivity despite hardship.","url":"https://time.com/6146565/how-time-picked-2021-kid-of-the-year/","keywords":["franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a43b67503ce0906/698a224d096a941fe06ac3a2/TIME-Kid-of-the-Year-Orion-Jean.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Edward Felsenthal","jobTitle":"Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a43b67503ce0906/698a224d096a941fe06ac3a2/TIME-Kid-of-the-Year-Orion-Jean.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME-Kid-of-the-Year-Orion-Jean","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6146565/how-time-picked-2021-kid-of-the-year/","name":"How We Picked the 2021 Kid of the Year"}}]}] ```